Powerade strikes back after LeBron James' big performance in Heat's Game 2 win over Spurs

After cramps brought on by air-conditioning-malfunction-induced sweltering conditions forced LeBron James' early exit in the Miami Heat's Game 1 loss to begin the 2014 NBA Finals, the folks behind Gatorade's Twitter account took the opportunity to take shots at James — an endorser of competitor Powerade — for finding himself dehydrated and cramping at such a big moment. Gatorade apologized for the tweets the day after Game 1 — "We got caught up in the heat of the battle," said the company's release — while Powerade issued a statement saying it was "riding with [James] during his quest for more hardware and look forward to watching him power through like he's done so many times before." After James did just that in Sunday's Game 2, looking explosive and energetic en route to a game-high 35 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in a 98-96 win that wrested away home-court advantage from the San Antonio Spurs and got the Heat even in the best-of-seven NBA Finals, Powerade offered another brief statement:

Well played, drink. (Gatorade, for its part, hasn't tweeted anything ... which is probably for the best.) The best thing about this? Another beverage LeBron endorses, Sprite, got into the mix:

We wait with bated breath to find out which beverage will be next to join the 2014 NBA Finals Social Media Wars. Since both Powerade and Sprite are Coca-Cola products, maybe Gatorade will get support from a fellow PepsiCo brand ambassador.